MANHATTAN [WABC] — It's been a case of car owners against the city. But on Thursday, the car owners scored big.
Video – Snow Plow Slices Through Cars
MANHATTAN [WABC] — It’s been a case of car owners against the city. But on Thursday, the car owners scored big.
Surveillance video shows a New York City sanitation truck plowing snow, as well as plowing into a dozen cars in Manhattan. It happened on West 110th Street between Broadway and Columbus during last week’s big snow storm.
“Now I’m livid,” resident Grant Held said. “I want to see justice.”
Surveillance video from Held’s builiding on West 110th street showed the sanitation truck approaching and smashes into his car.
“I want them to take responsibility,” he said. “I want justice. I was inconvenienced. I had no car.”
And Grant wasn’t the only one. His Mini-Cooper was totaled last week, the morning after the big snow storm, when city plow trucks were driving by all day. Grant reported the incident to authorities, as did numerous others on the block who were very angry with the sanitation department about all the damage. And they were angry that no one seemed to be taking responsibility.
At least 11 cars were hit on the block last week. Looking at the police report, Grant is also wondering if more than one snow plow could have been involved.
That’s because his police report says the cars were hit at 5:20 a.m. But the video shows the plow ramming into the car at 12:40 a.m.
On Thursday, the city’s sanitation department viewed the video for the first time and responded with this statement, saying “A copy of the video has been turned over to the department’s investigative division. And while the video appears to contradict earlier claims regarding the alleged timing of the incident, the department will make every effort to determine any liability.”
Another interesting fact is that there is clearly a witness in the video, a person walking in front of the car at the moment of impact. And that person just keeps walking by. Grant and the others hope he or she comes forward and that the driver who is responsible is taken off the streets before hitting anything or anyone in the future.
“Because next time it could be my baby, it could be my mother, it could be me,” Grant said.
ts
yeh, the city (meaning us taxpayers) should pay for the damage, but it was a mistake and one which the driver could easily have been unaware of. snowy, noisy truck that’s always experiencing bumps…
the outrage is misplaced and inappropraitely exxagerated (next time a baby? jeesh).
to ts:
If it was your car that received such damage and you had to pay for the repairs out of your own pocket, I’m sure you wouldn’t be so forgiving. I’m sure all the victims want is for the person responsible to pay for the repairs and that’s more than a fair demand.
t s
I had no problem with that the damage should be compensated for. I had a problem with the outrage and mention of “newxt time baby” comment. It was an easy mistake to make and not newsworthy.
calm down
It happens all the time
The snow job MUST get done
Its a very dangerous job to drive a truck around in the snow,
Sometimes there could be an accident.
Lyn
My car was recently damage after this week snow storm. I have no witnesses. How Can I prove NYC sanitation is the cause?
Should I file a complain with the dept?